By Donna Hemmila

Visiters enjoy grand opening of the Robert Mondavi Institute on Oct. 10.

In her student days, Clare Hasler toiled in a drab laboratory with little in the way of sunlight and scenery. As executive director of the new Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC Davis, Hasler can appreciate what the new facilities mean for students.

The institute, which celebrated its grand opening on Oct. 10, houses the departments of Viticulture and Enology and Food Science and Technology together in one 129,600-square-foot complex. The institute bears the name of its benefactor, legendary Napa winemaker Robert Mondavi, who donated $25 million for its construction. (UC Davis, the state of California and other private donors are contributing a total of $93.5 million to build the institute complex.)

"This is a dream come true for students to have these facilities," Hasler said. "This is going to ensure we maintain our pre-eminent position in wine and food science."

The new shiny labs where students are studying have the latest equipment plus floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the surrounding hillsides and central courtyard. And it's not just any courtyard.

Rather than plant traditional landscaping in the open space between buildings next to a small olive grove, the UC Davis buildings and grounds department created the Good Life Garden, a seasonal, edible planting of vegetables, herbs and flowers. This fall, fragrant rosemary and oregano share tidy beds with broccoli and beets while sage and sedum liven up the cabbage patch. Twelve varieties of lettuce are thriving. As the seasons change, the crops will be harvested and new ones planted.

The garden's goals are to promote the link between food and health and to encourage people to grow and plant seasonal foods. Seeds of Change, an organic garden supply company, provides the seeds. The harvested produce will be distributed through the campus food services and Whole Foods Market, said Sal Genito, director of campus buildings and grounds. Garden Club Friends will receive a box of produce each month.

For Hasler, who joined UC Davis in 2004 to shepherd the institute through its planning and construction, the garden provides a visible reminder of her life's work in nutrition.

Hasler is an international authority in "functional foods." The term describes foods that provide health benefits beyond their nutritional content. Almonds, olive oil, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, flax seeds and dozens of other foods are recognized for their potential in reducing risk of chronic diseases and promoting health.

Hasler has a master's degree in nutrition from the Pennsylvania State University and a dual doctoral degree in environmental toxicology and human nutrition from Michigan State University.

"I knew I wanted to get a Ph.D. from the first time I stepped into a lab," she said.

From 1990 to 1992, Hasler served as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Cancer Institute. She also earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she was an assistant professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and an adjunct assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago. While at the University of Illinois she founded the Functional Foods for Health Program.

Her job as the institute's executive director provides a perfect melding of her interests in health, food science and teaching. Hasler serves as the university's liaison with the wine and food industries, and she leads the development of programming, organizing events and seminars such as the Dec. 6 educational olive oil tasting. The UC Davis Olive Center, which uses fruits from campus trees to produce its own oils, is housed in the food science building at the institute.

Not only does the public benefit from the food and beverage research that goes on at the institute, Hasler said, but also there will be many opportunities for people to enjoy events and learning experiences at the institute.

Those opportunities will expand as the institute expands. The second phase is expected to open in 2010. The $16.5 million project will add two more buildings to the institute complex. One will house the teaching and research winery and the other the Anheuser-Busch Brewing and Food Science Laboratory, named for another industry donor. This winter a 12-acre teaching vineyard will be planted next to the new building site.

Robert Mondavi passed away in May at age 94 and won't get to see the final project completed. Hasler said she thinks he was at the grand opening in spirit and would be pleased at the way the university is carrying on his legacy. As it celebrates its 100th anniversary, UC Davis continues to play a significant role in the developing of California's wine industry. Many of the state's winemakers and winery owners are UC Davis alumni. And the university continues to be a leader in food safety, pest control and production and processing methods, all of which make major contributions to California's $37 billion agriculture industry.

"It's a privilege to be part of this," said Hasler. "It's a great time to be part of UC Davis."

Donna Hemmila is editor of Our University.